Old Moaner Travel
I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list
North Wales (y Gogledd)
Or, as those in South Wales call it - gogland.
Flint was home to the first castle built in Wales by Edward I to subdue the Welsh. The castle appears in Shakespeare's Richard II, although the historical accuracy of the story is in doubt. Nowadays the castle is a ruin, surrounded by the railway and modern buildings.
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Prestatyn has three beaches. Ffrith beach, behind sand dunes is home to an amusement park. The Central Beach has the Nova with an indoor swimming pool and entertainment facilities, whilst the eastern, Barkny Beach, is backed on by holiday camps. There are nature trails to the south of the town and the town forms the northern end of Offa's Dyke path which ends at Chepstow 170 miles to the south.
Many once grand seaside resorts are now a shadow of their former selves and none exemplifies the decline more than Rhyl. In its favour it has three miles of sandy beaches but many of its former attractions are long gone or derelict and what little remains seems seedy and down at heel. It's a few miles from the A55 trunk road and, frankly, it isn't worth detouring even to look at and the sort of place where if you weren't depressed when you arrived, you will be after a short time, it simply sucks the joy out of you - hence the expression "it sucks".
Colwyn Bay is home to three miles of sand and the beach area is cut off from the main town by both the main railway line and the A55 - that may be an advantage or disadvantage depending on your point of view - I would call it an advantage personally. The safe waters are popular for watersports from sailing to jet-skiing. There is a reasonably size amusement park, including an indoor swimming pool for days when the weather is not clement. The town has a zoo. If you are not feeling energetic a miniature railway runs along the promenade.
Llandudno is easily one of the best resorts in Wales, arguably in the entire country, especially if you aren't a fan of the "kiss me quick" tacky seaside resort. Another of the resorts developed as part of the railway revolution, Llandudno was fortunate in that its development was well planned rather than being allowed to sprawl.
As a resort the town features wide boulevards and expansive promenades. Set below the impressive Great Ormes Head the town has two beaches, both sand and shingle. West Shore has a very low tide, stretching out a very long way and visitors should not venture out to far as it is easy to get cut off when the tide turns, the beach is south facing so is popular on sunny days.
North Shore is a two mile stretch bounded by a promenade with a pier at the western end and Little Ormes Head at the eastern end. Street cafés give the town an almost Mediterranean feel and traditional attractions like donkey rides and Punch and Judy shows can still be found on the beach.
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Great Ormes Head itself towers 679ft (207m) above the sea. At the summit there is a country park offering stunning views of Snowdonia to the south and on a clear day the Cumbrian mountains can be seen in the north. There is a path for the energetic to walk to the top from Llandudno but for the less mobile there is a toll road for drivers, a cable car or Britain's last surviving cable hauled tramway.
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Conwy is an impressive town and the best-preserved medieval, fortified town in the country with most of the town walls and castle still intact. Built across the River Conwy, three bridges link the two sides of the town. There is a Thomas Telford suspension bridge, now pedestrian only, offering awesome sights of the towering castle. There is Robert Stephenson's railway bridge and a modern road bridge. A fair amount of the ramparts can be walked round, offering good views of the town. Needless to say there are numerous very old buildings in the town. Conwy is home to, reputedly, the smallest house in Britain, standing 8' 4" (2.5m) high and 6ft (1.8m) wide which overlooks the Quay, from where pleasure boat and fishing trips depart.
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Bangor is a fairly nondescript resort but is redeemed by its history and it can trace its Christian roots to 81 years before the founding of Canterbury.
Near the cathedral is the Bible Garden which was created to show all the plants mentioned in the Bible and every plant mentioned which can survive the local climate is indeed to be found here. The Museum Of Welsh Antiquities tells the story of the area from prehistoric to modern times.
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Anglesey is the largest island in Wales at 276 square miles (715 square Km's) the island is relatively unspoiled.
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Holyhead is the main town on the island, however unless you are planning to catch the ferry to Ireland you will miss very little if you don't bother visiting, as it has a depressing, dilapidated feel and its best days are definitely in the past rather than the present.
Amazingly 2 million passengers a year pass through Holyhead, although I would wager most of them leave as soon as they arrive.
Unless arriving by ferry there are two roads leading onto the island. The so called (and inappropriately named) North Wales Expressway crossing the Britannia Bridge, whilst the A5 crosses Thomas Telford's famous Menai Suspension Bridge. The island also has good rail links.
One of the first attractions visitors to the island come to see is just after the Britannia Bridge at the railway station locally known as Llanfairpwll but, when used with its full name, attracts thousands of visitors as it's the station also known as Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch the longest railway station name in the world. OK it's a cheap marketing ploy but it works.
There is, unsurprisingly, a gift shop next door but it has to be said it has a better range of goods than many far more tacky tourist shops you will find elsewhere and in fairness the owners are very much responsible for restoring and maintaining the station.
With 125 miles of coastline the island has many delightful beaches and none of them over commercialised. many are sandy, many secluded but many have no amenities at all - which is no bad thing whilst even the most "built up" and that's a relative term, have little more than a cafe and or pub and maybe a surf shop but that's no bad thing in my view - I much prefer an unspoiled stretch of coast.
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On the downside there are a large number of static caravan parks which I think are abominations and totally ruin the landscape
Rhosneigr and Treaddur Bay are renown for their windsurfing, the former is located close to RAF Valley so the peace and quiet may be shattered by military jets taking off but for me that's no bad thing.
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For walkers there is a coastal path encompassing the entire island and from many places, assuming clear weather - which is never guaranteed - stunning views of Snowdonia are offered. The coastal path isn't easy as the entire route has an aggregate climb of 4,174 metres (of course there are the corresponding descents as well, so it evens out)
A couple of other places worthy of mention are Cemaes Bay, a pretty sheltered bay on the north coast.
Whilst Moelfre has a very interesting Lifeboat centre telling the story of the RNLI both nationally and locally and it's a great chance to learn about the great work carried out by this voluntary organisation and its brave volunteers.
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On balance Anglesey is what I would call an OK island - good if you're a nature lover and a lover of the rugged outdoors. If you're a lover of lively beaches, nightclubs and the party life then Anglesey is unlikely to float your boat.
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Would I visit the island again?
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Well if I was in the area I would but, being honest I wouldn't go out of my way or make a special trip.
We'll leave the best to last though and the highlight of north Wales has to be Snowdonia an area which attracts some 3.67 million visitors a year.
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Designated a national park in 1951 the premier attraction has to be Mount Snowdon. the more intrepid will walk to the top of the 3,560' (1,085m) tall mountain. the less energetic will join the 130,000 passengers who let the train take the strain as the only public rack and pinion railway in the UK makes the 4.75 mile (7.6km) journey from nearby Llaberis to the summit .... on a clear day the views on the trip are stunning but you're just as likely to encounter mist and rain - you are at the mercy of the weather Gods and the changeable weather has caught out many a walker over the years.
The railway operates from Whitsun to October and operations are weather and passenger demand driven.
On the days the railway operates there is also a cafe open at the summit. It's probably no surprise that Snowdon is one of the wettest areas in Britain averaging 200 inches (5,100 mm) of precipitation a year.
On a rare clear day the views from the summit are exceptional with Ireland, Scotland, England the Isle of Man and, of course, Wales all visible.
The area is renown for slate production and there are several museums in the area dedicated to the black rock and it goes without saying plenty of slate related souvenirs can be purchased ranging from the tacky and tasteless through to some stunning works of art.
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